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It's New Years Eve and the Avengers were all celebrating at Stark Tower in New York. Everyone was having fun and conversing with the people that were invited, except Steve. He hates these parties that Tony throws. He stays face and holds little conversation as possible. Steve hangs back and smiles at people who look his way. Once he's had enough, Steve sits at the bar. He was bored, but no one was allowed to leave before midnight. The super soldier was waiting for midnight. He would watch the ball drop and then go back to the Avengers Compound where he could finally go to bed.
Seeing Steve sitting by himself, Natasha made eye contact with her husband Clint. They shared a look between them. She made her way over to Steve and sat beside him. Smiling Nat asked him "Hey soldier. What's your New Years wish?" The Widow felt bad for her youngest teammate. Steve never asked anything of them, usually keeping to himself.
Laughing, Steve replied "The same wish it has been since I was thirteen years old living in Brooklyn, all the way up to when I went under in the Second World War." Steve told her. He sighed. "I know it can't happen, especially now, but can't blame a guy for hoping." Steve looked at his partner with a half smile on his face.
Returning his smile, Nat said back "A handsome man like yourself could find any woman you want. And especially on a night like this, cute as you are, you could pick any lady of your choosing and kiss her when the clock strikes midnight singling in the new year."
Steve frowned. "It's not a dame I'm wishing for." And with that surprise revelation, Steve shot his shot of whiskey, and got up to grab Barton's attention to serve him another round.
Walking over to him, Nat sat back down beside the super soldier. "You can't just thrust something like that on a woman. How long were you going to go without telling me this bit of info on yourself?" She wasn't mad or angry, she was curious and interested.
"A guy doesn't have to give anyone a full report about himself. I would be lying if I didn't say I was shocked that being a spy like yourself, you didn't know my full story already." Steve pushed his shot glass back to Clint, silently asking for another.
"Even the notorious Black Widow has standards...." Nat began saying before she got a look from Steve saying that he didn't believe her. "Okay not many standards, know what I need to know, but you're my friend and I would never do that to friends. I like when friends divulge this kind of information to me." She finished with a smile on her face.
Steve frowned again. "I have so many secrets about myself that would shock a nation if they knew. And these are secrets that I have kept and thought I took to the grave with me 70 some years ago, but that didn't happen." He took his twentieth shot and looked at the lady beside him. "Nat I know we're friends, but I will never tell you another secret unless I want. There is just something mysterious about a man that has secrets." He looked down at his now full shot glass.
Smirking to herself, Natasha waved her husband over signaling that she wanted a drink. "So now that I know you bat for the other side, how many of the others know this secret?"
Letting out a grunt, Steve responded "I prefer fancy other men or man in specific, no one else knows. Now that doesn't mean you go spreading that around." Steve said to her. "I'll know."
"Your secret is safe with me." She smiled and finished off her glass of wine.
Steve stayed at the bar drinking shots after Natasha left to go mingle with the crowd some more. "Hey Steve, I would love to stay here and keep serving you whiskey shots, but my wife is calling me over. Here's the bottle of whiskey, you have as much as you want big man."
"Thanks Clint." Steve said to his teammate. He has never had a problem with Clint. He genuinely liked the man because he was there to listen and never judged. He also gave good advice, never afraid to tell it like it is. He liked that. He looked around the party from his seat at the bar. He saw everyone having a good time and enjoying themselves. He smiled because he was happy that the others were having a good time, even though he himself was miserable.
Looking at the clock, he saw that there was only 5 minutes left until they would ring in the New Year, and Steve sighed and took another shot of whiskey. If he could, at midnight he would kiss the whiskey bottle for saving him tonight, not that he could get drunk. "Steve get yourself a drink and come over here. The ball is going to start to drop in 20 seconds." Yelled Tony from across the room.
The super soldier sighed and poured himself his fortieth shot. Steve made his way over to his friends as they excitedly counting down from sixty until it reached zero welcoming in 2017. As it got down to ten, everyone was yelling, counting down the seconds. At the same time everyone yelled "HAPPY NEW YEAR!!" Nobody ever heard Friday say that there was a security breach.
As the clock struck midnight, bringing in the new year, everyone kissed either their significant other or found someone to kiss, everyone except Steve. Instead, he threw back his head shooting the whiskey again. What no one took notice to the odd man standing in the middle of the floor looking straight at Steve.
"Are you going to keep doing whiskey shots all night or are you going to kiss me Punk?" The strange man shouted over everyone else, making the whole party freeze and turn staring at the man who breached security.
Steve froze as soon as he heard what the man said. "Can't be." He thought to himself. Looking at the man, he walked towards him.
"Cap, I don't think...." Tony started to say but stopped talking when he saw Steve walked up to the man.
"How...How is this possible? Bucky?" Was all Steve could say. He had tears in his eyes.
"Are you going to blubber the entire time or are you going to finally kiss me?" Bucky said to Steve.
To the shock of the entire party, Steve kissed Bucky, his best friend and secret lover since he was thirteen years old. Breaking the kiss, Steve said "I have been waiting to do that for a long time Jerk."
"Me too Stevie, me too." Bucky said with a smile and tears in his eyes.
Addressing the elephant in the room, Tony says "What's happening now? Can someone please clue us in? And Bucky? As in James Buchanan Barnes? I thought you were dead?" After the last question, Pepper elbowed Tony to shut up.
"Long story short, I'm alive. Do to experiments done to me, I didn't die from falling from the train in forty-four. I was found and taken back to Hydra, made into an assassin, brainwashed for seventy plus years, but I kept fighting back. And I finally escaped, and found you Steve. I've stalked you for weeks, all of you really. I wanted to know about you, without being noticed. I thought I would surprise you Steve in 2017 and come home, to you. I've been away long enough." Bucky told the room.
"I know you, you're the ghost, the Winter Soldier." Natasha said from her husband's side. "Steve, he's dangerous and can't be trusted." She continued on saying.
By this time the party was emptying out with the help of some of the Avengers. All the people had finally left. Tony and the other Avengers by this time got defensive when hearing the name Winter Soldier. Tony was now in his suit, same with Rhodes, and everyone else had what they needed, never being far from weapons in case they needed them. Steve stood in front of his Bucky in a defensive position. "No one is going to hurt Bucky." Steve told his teammates. "Look, if he was dangerous and had bad intentions, do you think he would come to a party full of people unarmed? No he wouldn't. So everybody just calm down." The super soldier tried to get his team and friends to calm down.
Looking at what was happening, Natasha said "James has been your crush since you were thirteen, hasn't he?" She still wasn't sure about the Winter Soldier standing only a few feet from her.
Nodding, Steve said "Yeah he has. I love him, and I have been in love with him since. Look I thought I lost him once, I'm not losing him again. He's my everything. Always has been, always will be. No one is going to change how I feel." He looked at Bucky and smiled.
"The Winter Soldier. You killed my parents." Tony said to Barnes.
"I didn't. I was always accompanied by another Hydra agent. That man killed your parents, and then I killed him." Barnes said to Tony.
"I don't believe you." Tony sneered.
"I recognized Howard, and Maria. I wouldn't hurt them. I tried to save them." Bucky tried to reason with Tony.
"Get out. Final warning." Stark said to the assassin.
Clint spoke up. "Let's all of us calm down."
"I'm with Tony on this one. He tried to kill me...twice." She held her gun to him.
"I never hit you. If I wanted you dead, you would be. The first time we met I shot at you to warn you off, and you did. The second time we met, I was trying to get the man you were protecting, not you." Barnes said back to her.
"You killed an innocent man, and shot me in the process." Natasha snapped back.
"He was hardly innocent. He was a human trafficker that was selling women and children into sexual slavery, and he was a drug lord. I tried to get you away, but you wouldn't, and so I shot through you, killing him. I knew where I shot you, you would be fine." Bucky said back to her.
"So you shot my wife." Clint said to him.
"I couldn't let that man go free. I did what I needed to do." Bucky replied.
"Wait a minute. I remember something from our fight with the Chitauri. You were there. I caught a glimpse of something metal. The sun had beamed off it, and it caught my eye. You were there." Thor said to the Winter Soldier.
"I told you all I had been stalking you guys for quite some time. Then those weird looking things came, and then I saw Steve get shot out of fifth story window." Bucky turned to Steve. "Which was stupid by the way." He said to the super soldier. "I shot them from a position I thought I was best at being hidden. I had to protect Steve." Barnes said to them.
"Okay walk down memory lane is over. Get out, or I will kill you right here, right now." Stark said to Barnes.
"I don't want to fight you Tony, but I will kick your ass if you hurt Buck." Steve said to his teammate.
"He killed my parents, for what? The serum that my father had in the trunk of his car?" Tony said back to Steve, but was looking at Barnes.
"I tried to save them." Bucky said. He started to take off the jacket he was wearing.
"Don't move another muscle." Tony replied.
"I don't have any weapons on me. I want to show you something." Barnes said as he took off his jacket and then pulled up his sweatshirt. "I was shot three times in the stomach, two of the bullets went straight through and killed Howard. I was standing in front of him, shielding him, but it wasn't enough. The guy then choked Maria to death as I laid on the ground bleeding, crying. Maria was like a mother to Steve and I during the war. She always made sure we had food and everything we needed, and Howard always looked out for us. I couldn't kill them." James said to Tony. He pulled his sweatshirt back down and picked up his coat.
"We all just need to cool off. Sit down and let's talk about this." Clint said to the group.
After hours of sitting down, eating and having some drinks, everyone seemed somewhat okay with Bucky being there at the Avengers Compound with Steve. The Avengers were learning what all was done to Barnes during his seventy plus years away. They were horrified and disgusted by what they heard this young man endued with Hydra.
In the coming months, the Avengers fought for James Buchanan Barnes' innocence. Today he fights along side them. If Captain America is there, you can be sure to see the Winter Soldier fighting along side him.